Theft from parent-teacher organizations a problem that won't go away

Monday

Jul 7, 2014 at 6:00 AMJul 7, 2014 at 9:47 AM

By Benjamin PaulinEnterprise Staff Writer and Rich HarbertWicked Local Plymouth

Police have accused the former treasurer of a Plymouth elementary school parent group of stealing thousands of dollars meant to help students.This is just the latest example of this type of crime in which a local parent-teacher organization suffers.

Kelly Coveney, 32, of Plymouth, now faces a charge of larceny of more than $250 by single scheme.

Coveney was treasurer of the Hedge Elementary School Parent Teacher Association for the 2011 and 2012 school years and reportedly stole $12,813 between September 2010 and August 2013.

Police brought a complaint against Coveney in March. She pleaded innocent during an arraignment in Plymouth District Court last month. The case is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing July 23.

Similar incidences in the Brockton area in recent years have prompted PTAs to evaluate how funds are handled within their organizations.

In 2008 in Randolph, former Kennedy School Parent-Teacher Organization treasurer Nancy E. Hernandez admitted in court to taking $8,700 from the till. She was ordered to repay the money and was sentenced to two years probation.

Kennedy PTO member Tom Geary said when the funds were stolen in 2008, it was “catastrophic” to the group.

Geary said safeguards are now in place to help prevent this type of incident.

“There has to be two signatures on checks. That way it’s more above board. It has to be signed by the treasurer and a member of the PTO,” Geary said.

At each PTO meeting, the treasurer’s report now details which funds went in and what expenses went out since the previous meeting.

“Beforehand the report was general. Now it’s as detailed as possible. What is going in and out and how is that balancing out,” he said.

There have been several incidents in Brockton, prompting one PTO to also employ a two-person sign-off procedure to protect its funds:

In 2008, leaders of the Hancock School Parent Advisory Council found thousands missing from their account. They say the former treasurer took some $15,000 in cash and checks during 17 months in office. She resigned, paid the money back and was never criminally charged.

Beverly Souaiden is the current treasurer of the Hancock School PTA.

She said the organization now has strong security measures to ensure all funds are accounted for.

“Two people have to be present to count and verify any time we’re handling money,” Souaiden said.

The group created their own disbursement, reimbursement and money calculating forms and all forms need to be filled out and verified and signed by two people.

The group meets every month and reviews finance reports during the meeting.

“It’s the whole PTA that sees the report and they can see what’s coming and what’s going and everything is voted on.”

Just a year later, in 2009, another Brockton woman was sentenced to five years probation after pleading guilty in 2009 to stealing $50,979 from the Brockton High School athletic department.

The two-person sign-off procedure is not completely foolproof, however. Last year, a former PTA president in Middleboro and another parent were found guilty of embezzling $30,000 from the group over a five-year span. No member of that organization was available for comment last week on what, if any, measures it has taken to secure its funds.

In Plymouth, the Hedge School’s PTA recently sent parents a letter informing them about the ongoing police investigation involving their previous treasurer. The letter, signed by all six of the PTA’s current officers, said the group will seek full restitution.

Coveney has reportedly admitted to school officials to taking at least $6,000, saying she had “no excuse or right reason” for taking the money.

School officials initially indicated they wanted restitution but preferred to handle the incident without criminal charges but Plymouth police filed a criminal complaint against Coveney in March.

Stephanie Gray, president of the state PTA, said both the state and national PTA organizations work with local groups on how to handle funds. The state PTA provides a course on money management, called Money Matters, that includes safeguards to protect against theft.